Security arrangements are being made by the Egyptian embassy in Washington in preparation for President Hosni Mubarak's visit to the US to attend direct negotiations among Palestinians and Israelis. Sameh Shoukri, the Egyptian Ambassador to the US, said that Mubarak will start his tour on Monday, heading first to France for bilateral peace talks with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, and then to Washington. “There will be preparations on Tuesday for Mubarak's meetings and the opening speech he will deliver the following day,” Shoukri said. Mubarak, accompanied by an Egyptian delegation composed of Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit, Minister of Information Anas al-Feki, Chief of Presidential Staff Zakareyya Azmi, and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Omar Soliman, will meet US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. Mubarak will attend an iftar at the White House for participating delegations. Concerning expectations of the failure of direct negotiations due to the absence of political intention from both Palestinians and Israelis, Shoukri said the focus should be on positive development among the two parties. According to Shoukri, their willingness to negotiate proves that they desire peace, adding that there is no reason to judge the negotiations before they begin, and that the correct thing to do is wait and evaluate the results. Shoukri said he has no information regarding protests by the Egyptian community, commonly staged in front of the White House during Mubarak's visits to the US. “No one told me there will be protests. I have no information about any positive or negative activity.” Negotiations will be launched on Thursday, 2 September among Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the participation of Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II, as well as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, George Mitchell. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
